International Scam Artists Target Manalapan Senior Citizens

The are warning residents about a phone scam that is specifically targeting the senior citizens of Manalapan Township. The police have reported two incidents in the township since Christmas that were successful and one failed attempt.

On Dec. 22, a Manalapan man told police that he was called on Dec. 13 by a person posing as his grandson-in-law. The suspect told the man he was in police custody in Peru and to wire $2,873 as soon as possible so that he could be processed immediately by the US Embassy, police said. The scam artist also had an accomplice who posed as an attorney. The Manalapan man sent a total of $3,017.65 through a local Western Union office on Dec. 13, only to learn later that this was a scam.

A 95-year-old woman of Manalapan was also a victim of a phone scam on Jan. 13. She informed police on Jan. 14 that she had been called by a male suspect who identified himself as her grandson. The suspect told the woman that he had been arrested in Barcelona, Spain and was in need of money immediately. The woman wired $2,526 to the suspect in Barcelona before realizing she was being scammed.

Capt. Chris Marsala of the Manalapan Police Department said that these scam artists have specific information about the victim they are calling, including their name and the name of the relative they are posing as. Marsala said he believes these con men are specifically preying on the senior citizens within Manalapan given the increased activity of the scams recently.

"The callers are calling from outside the country so even if we identified them we would not be able to prosecute them," Marsala said.

Therefore, prevention is the best method for curbing these thefts by deception. Marsala said he has given a crime prevention speech at Covered Bridge and discussed phone scams, among other scams that are targetted towards senior citizens. has also been contacted by police and urged to spread awareness about the phone scams.

While Marsala is unaware of these scams occuring in other local municipalities, he said that this is not a new scam and he is sure it is happening elsewhere.